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The Trump administration is being sued by a group of labor unions and higher-education groups that want to stop an immigration rule announced last month. The rule would limit the amount of time foreign students and journalists can stay in the U.S. Students could stay for four years unless they apply and pay for an extension. NPR's Elissa Nadworny reports.
ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: The lawsuit filed in federal court early Tuesday aims to pause the new rule, arguing the government didn't follow correct procedures in issuing it.
FANTA AW: We felt that this needed to go a legal route. From a procedural perspective, there are many elements here that we felt had not been taken seriously.
NADWORNY: Fanta Aw is the director and CEO of NAFSA - the Association of International Educators - one of the organizations behind the lawsuit, which also includes organizations of college presidents and a number of unions that represent graduate students.
AW: We see this as a solution in search of a problem.
NADWORNY: This new rule eliminates what's known as duration of status, adding strict time limits to student visas and restricting how international students can transfer schools or change their study plans. It's part of the Trump administration's broader crackdown on immigration. But colleges worry it will deter foreign students from enrolling in medical programs or Ph.D.s, which often take longer than four years, and then U.S. innovation will take a big hit.
When the Department of Homeland Security first proposed the rule change, it received more than 20,000 public comments, many of which were from colleges and universities saying the change would cause major disruptions for their international students, both current and prospective. Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, sees it differently.
SIMON HANKINSON: I honestly don't think the impact of this is going to be huge. And I think the benefit will be substantial in that we can have a little more control over our foreign student population and just make sure they're actually here and studying.
NADWORNY: Unless a federal judge grants a preliminary injunction, the rule will go into effect on September 15.
Elissa Nadworny, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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